Women's Pro Cycling

Changing Gears

After winning a medal for Canada on the track at the London Olympics, Gillian Carleton is making her professional road-racing debut with Specialized-lululemon. She’ll be sharing updates on Bicycling.com throughout the 2013 season.

gillian carleton

(Photo by Gillian Carleton (far right) at the 2013 Specialized–lululemon team camp in Portugal. (Heidi Swift))

I'm currently typing away in an airport lounge, third coffee of the morning sitting on the table next to me. Our team is getting ready for the last hurrah of this year's track cycling season—the World Championships in Belarus, where I’ll compete in the team pursuit and omnium. For some riders (I'm looking at you, sprinters) this means there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's rapidly approaching. For others, the end of the track season signifies the start of the road season, and for the first time ever I am looking down the barrel of another seven months on the road, as one of the newest members of the Specialized-lululemon professional women's team.

I have to admit that I am getting more and more excited to make the transition to road. My Specialized-lululemon teammates have already kicked off their seasons at Aussie Nationals and the Ladies Tour of Qatar, and so my legs are restlessly awaiting the day I get to finally pull on my new jersey and join them on the start line.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that at this point last year, I had just dropped out of university and left my job as a bike-shop employee, and was still only two races into what would be a very successful first international track season. The stress levels I dealt with on a daily basis—by virtue of being a complete (albeit, rather speedy) novice thrown into a successful national program during an Olympic year—were through the roof. I am eagerly anticipating a new race season in which I can continue learning from the best, but without a deadline that says "London 2012" looming over my head.

I'm sure there will be some speed bumps in the road ahead, as there always are, and I'm still expecting to feel some of that familiar nervous energy as I stand on the start line of my first European road race. But in my mind, that's positive stress. The nerves mean that the outcome of the race, this season, and my career are important. And I'm so incredibly lucky to be in the situation where I can work hard towards something that matters so much to me, every single day of my life.

Chill Out Three tips from Gillian Carleton on handling pre-event stress:

Fire up iTunes
“I find that music helps the most with managing pre-race nerves. For example, when I'm killing time before a race at the track, I listen to something mellow to avoid getting my heart rate up too much.”

Stick to a routine “I have a warm-up playlist that I listen to every time I'm on rollers. Hearing the familiar beat of the opening song lets me know that it's okay to start getting amped up!”

Have a plan
Carleton writes out her race plan the night before an event. “When I get into that jittery pre-race state and start questioning my fitness and tactical ability, I find it really helps to go back over it,” she says.